Finding beauty in the white spaces

Ordinary Days: Show Me

Our world is full of talk. Whether it’s in the political arena, advertisements or yes, even religion, we hear lots of promises and see very few results. It’s so easy to become jaded and begin to doubt promises and guarantees no matter the source.

Is there anyone who can be counted on to come through on their talk?

This is the challenge in our readings this week. It’s very much a “Show Me” vibe. You say you love others? Show me. You say peace is a viable reality in our world? Show me. You say freedom from sin is possible? Show me.

Being a follower of Jesus means actually living into a reality that we insist is possible. Let us all embrace the challenge this week as we journey together.

Matthew 10:40-42

“Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me.If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs.And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

Jeremiah 28:5-9

Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple.He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives.But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people.The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease.So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the Lord.”

Genesis 22:1-14

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together,Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

“God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son.Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever.Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant.I have sworn this oath to him: I will establish your descendants as kings forever;they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’”

Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.They exult in your righteousness. You are their glorious strength.It pleases you to make us strong. Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.

Romans 6:12-23

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right.And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer

Father, You are the keeper of promises.You always follow up on what you say.Remind me today of your faithfulness and love.And help me to be faithful like you.Help me to love othersby giving me people to show love to.Help me to be patientby giving me an opportunity to bear with someone else.Help me to be mercifulby giving me an chance to forgive.Help me to be kindby placing difficult people in my path.And may your grace to shine through me todayin all I sayand all I do.Amen